Incentives
by tiramisuspice
Summary: Zay is about to fail Calculus. So Smackle tries to tutor him.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N: Minor characters in this show don't get enough love. So I wanted to focus on two who I think could have a fun friendship.**

 **Zay and Smackle.**

 **The uptight, exasperated nerdy girl and the super slacker? Mmmm yes please. Also written to practice writing Zay, because I've written him only once. (If any of you have read Love and War, this story comes from the same universe as Stuck)**

 **Rated K+ for Kneecaps**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own GMW but I love writing stupid stuff with the characters!  
**

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"Pay attention!" Smackle snapped, briskly clapping her hands twice in front of Zay's nose to bring his drooping eyes back to hers. "I swear you have the attention span of a youth. My niece is in kindergarten and can pay attention better than you."

"Sorry Izzy." Zay yawned, rubbing his eyes to wake himself out of his sleepy stupor. "You're just so boring…"

"Don't call me Izzy." She frowned. "Boring I may be, but I am your best shot at passing this Calculus exam in two days! Lucas requested I tutor you so you wouldn't flunk out of this class. I would appreciate it, _Isaiah_ , if you could make more of an effort to honour your friend's wishes."

"Tell you what. I'll stop calling you Izzy when you start calling me Zay."

"Did you not hear a word I just said?" she said, throwing her hands up in frustration, her monotone drawl fluctuating in indication of her irritation.

"I heard ya, I heard ya…" he yawned again, pulling his textbook closer to him. "So what page were we on anyway?"

She closed her eyes, taking a deep breath in through her mouth and slowly letting it out through her nose to cool herself down. She repeated the process multiple times before opening her eyes and finally addressing Zay.

"We weren't using the textbook." she said through grit teeth, "I was showing you how to determine whether a series is convergent or divergent."

"Convergent or divergent?" Zay responded, completely confused, "Whaaaa?"

"Oh my gosh, I'm going to break your kneecaps with a hammer." she muttered under her breath, rubbing her temple with her fingertips.

"Your face is pretty red. Want me to go get you some sun screen?" He had a shit-eating grin on his face. He loved riling her up.

She ignored his comment. "What is the last thing you remember learning in your class? Clearly, my approach has been all wrong. I need to go step-by-step with you through this."

"Eh…" he shrugged. "Something about triangles."

There was a moment of silence where Smackle just glowered at him, her brown eyes glinting dangerously behind her glasses.

"Triangles. Nothing else. Just triangles. I don't even— I can't—" And she sighed dejectedly, taking off her glasses and cleaning up the fog that had built on the lens with her handkerchief. "Honestly Isaiah, if you would just crack open your textbook every once in a while, this wouldn't be so difficult."

Zay leaned back against the tree they were sitting under, stretching his stiff arms above his head with a satisfied groan.

"It's too much effort for something so trivial, Izzy. When am I ever going to use this stupid stuff again?"

" _Don't_ call me Izzy." she snapped in exasperation. "And Calculus is a very necessary subject in order to measure the fluctuations of change over a period of time in economics. And since you're an Econ major, obviously it's a pretty prominent aspect."

"I didn't understand a word you just said…" he replied languidly, closing his eyes and relaxing in the cool breeze that blew by.

"I give up. I give up! Tell Lucas I've resigned from being your tutor." She slammed her own textbook shut. "You are honestly the most _infuriating_ person I have ever met in my twenty years of life."

"Sorry sugar." He chuckled, clearly not caring one bit that his tutor had given up on him.

"Do you even care that you're about to fail?!"

"Not really…" he shrugged, cracking an eye open and glancing at her. "But you need to loosen up."

"Loosen up? _Loosen_ _up_?! I was _very_ loose!" She pointed a shaking, accusatory finger in his direction. "It's your fault why I am so not loose right now! You killed all my looseness!"

He let out a short bark of laughter, crossing his legs at the ankles and setting his hands behind his head.

"It's in the seventies today and you're wearing a turtleneck ankle length dress and a cardigan. And probably knee highs."

She looked offended. "This is my lounging outfit! Just because I don't dress like typical students doesn't mean it's bad. There's nothing wrong with it."

"You're right. I'm sorry. Whatever floats your boat."

He didn't sound very apologetic though, and Smackle's eyes narrowed in annoyance, her irritation spiking once again because it seemed like he was definitely insulting her.

"It's a very comfortable outfit." she asserted, feeling the need to defend herself.

"Mmhmm…" he replied noncommittally in boredom.

"It's perfect for studying. And comfortable enough to take quick, efficient naps in."

"So then why didn't you just wear pajamas?"

"Pajamas in public? Preposterous."

He snorted. "Yeah. You are seriously uptight, Izzy."

" _Don't_ call me Izzy!" she eyed a couple of boys playing Frisbee nearby in distrust, leaning away when one caught the Frisbee a little too close to where she and Zay resided on the blanket. "And I'm not uptight."

"Oh yeah? What's your idea of a pastime?"

"A good mystery novel. Or studying."

"Is that all you ever do? Study?" he asked incredulously, watching her with pity in his gaze.

Her face went red hot in embarrassment from his expression. He was looking at her like she was some pitiful human being who had no life, and she honestly did not like it.

"Studying is good. It's healthy. It's how you feed your mind."

"It's also how you become uptight and kind of psycho."

She lifted her chin, looking down her nose at him with a look of distaste. "Maybe I am a little uptight, but I have big dreams, and I can't let any distractions stop me from achieving them."

Zay shook his head in disdain, undeterred by her haughty expression. "You poor, poor girl. Have you ever even gone to any of the frat parties on campus? Or even just out and about in town?"

She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose with her finger. "My course load is rigorous. I'm overloading by seven hours because of a triple major. I don't have time for such paltry adolescent activities."

"We're sophomores in college. Why are you so serious about school? We're supposed to be irresponsible and enjoy life right now." He took a swig of his coke, watching some chatting students as they walked by on their way to the dining hall. "Do you not party at all?"

"I party occasionally, if the need calls for it. Or if it may advance my goals."

"I don't mean one of those civilized dinner parties." Zay corrected, glancing at her like she had two heads, "I mean full-on music-blasting, wild-chandelier-swinging, girls-dancing-on-tables-without-their-tops partying. Have you ever even gotten drunk before?"

"If you must know, yes, I have indulged in consuming reckless amounts of alcoholic beverages for research purposes and decided quite frankly I did not enjoy it. I don't see the appeal."

He did a double take, his jaw dropping in surprise. "Wait, you've gotten drunk before?! When? I wish I had totally seen this. I can't even begin to imagine you completely wasted!"

Her cheeks burned slightly red, and she pushed her glasses up her nose once again. "We are _not_ talking about this. In fact, you shouldn't be talking at all. You should be focusing on Calculus."

"Well, it's not like I can do anything." He snarked, giving her a side-eye. "My tutor quit."

"Well I'm going to try again. I've never quit a thing a day in my life and I'm not about to start now because of some exasperating imbecile. No offense."

"None taken." he grinned, "It's nice to see you lose some control every once in a while."

"Don't get used to it." She cleared her throat. "Apologies for my earlier rash behaviour. As a tutor, I should exercise more control over my emotions and more patience to deal with morons. Again, no offense."

"None taken at all." Zay said, finishing off his coke.

"But I will definitely need a better approach." She mused pensively, chewing on her thumbnail in thought, "Clearly, you need more structure. And organization. And maybe a break every five minutes or so. Or perhaps a juicebox and some animal crackers. Maybe nappy time every thirty minutes."

"Or…" Zay cut in, stretching out the word, "An incentive."

Her brows furrowed. "Elaborate."

"I think I have an idea how to motivate me to study the material." Zay continued, a sly smile on his face. "A little deal that could make this tutoring arrangement work."

She narrowed her eyes suspiciously. "Proceed."

"What do you think of this?" he panned his hands out in front of him dramatically. "If I get at least a B on my Calc exam on Thursday, you have to go to a frat party."

Her nose wrinkled in disgust, "I fail to see how my end of the bargain is a winning situation. I'll have to sit through a disgusting party with gyrating teens and boozed up students while you get to celebrate a decent score."

"Hold on, there's more." Zay continued, knowing he had caught her interest when she glanced at him in slight confusion. "If I get any score less than eighty, I owe you ten mystery novels, and I'll sit through any method you choose to tutor me with without complaint."

"Intriguing." She nodded slowly. "This might just be the best way to get you to crack down on your studies. I like it."

"So we got ourselves a deal or what, Izzy?"

"Don't call me… Oh who am I kidding." She shook his hand, a competitive twinkle in her eyes. "We have a deal, Isaiah Babineaux."


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Happy New Year everyone! I felt like kicking off my updating (which will be more consistent by next week I hope) by starting with the oneshots that are missing their accompanying chapters lol. It's been a long time coming.  
**

 **Also, I changed the title from "Pay Attention!" to "Incentives".**

 **Thank you for the reviews! You all are very sweet, and I appreciate the kind words you guys have given me! Sorry for the seven month long wait for this! :D**

 **Rated Low T now for Tomfoolery At Frat Houses**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own GMW but I love writing stupid stuff with the characters!**

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"That's what you're wearing?" Zay asked incredulously, eyeing Smackle up and down and grimacing slightly.

Smackle looked down at her outfit in affront before looking back up and narrowing her eyes at him.

"What's wrong with it?"

"We're going to a frat party, Izzy… What's with the poofy dress? You look like you're about to go to a Quinceañera."

"This is my only party dress. And don't call me Izzy."

"Don't you have shorts or crop tops or tight skirts?"

"Why? So I can be objectified by some immature college creep who values the worth of a woman by the size of her bust and bum or the amount of skin she shows instead of her whole as a person?"

Zay stared blankly at her for a moment at her outburst.

"Right…" He lifted his hands in surrender. "You know what? Let's just go."

As they headed out her dorm and through the quad towards the frat houses, Zay explained the simple nuances and things to keep in mind: which frats had the best drinks, which ones were more kickback-y, _never_ using the restroom no matter what, and if the cops busted the party, it was every person for themselves.

"Why am I wasting my Friday night here?" Smackle muttered crossly as they approached the porch of the house, ear splitting music blasting from the speakers inside.

The noise could be heard all the way down the street.

"Because I won the deal."

"Yeah." She narrowed her eyes. "Only because _I_ helped to tutor you for your test."

"And I thank you for that, Izzy. If it hadn't been for you, I probably would have failed."

" _Don't_ call me Izzy," she snapped.

"One last thing," Zay said, ignoring her entirely. "If we get separated, do not get drunk until you find me."

"I'm well aware of how these social gatherings work, Isaiah." Smackle pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. "I did my research."

"Alright then. Let the fun begin!" Zay proclaimed, opening up the door dramatically.

Of course, within an hour, they ended up getting separated. They had spent about a half hour watching a beer pong game before Smackle disappeared from his sight. Zay cursed his luck, knowing he had a responsibility to watch out for her. Their friends would kill him if he didn't find her as soon as possible. He didn't doubt Smackle could defend herself—she had really bony elbows—but this wasn't her scene, and she was like fresh meat in a sea of vultures.

"Any of you seen a girl wearing glasses in a pink dress that looks like someone threw up cotton candy all over her?" he asked a pair of girls making out on the hookup couch.

One girl lifted a hand, pointing towards the living room.

Zay headed over there, squeezing past a bunch of people cheering loudly as he sought out Smackle. He finally found her in the front of the huge crowd of people, all shouting out numbers and counting as some guy chugged beer from a keg.

"Where the heck did you go?" Zay asked. "I thought you ditched."

"I've been observing this activity for a while," Smackle said pensively, rubbing her chin. "It's called a keg stand, is it not?"

 _"Thirty-six! Thirty-seven! Thirty-eight!"_

"Yeah. I wouldn't recommend it if you don't have a strong stomach or aren't used to drinking. Or if your gag reflex is bad. Trust me. I would know."

 _"Forty-three! Forty-four! Forty-five!"_

Smackle nodded. "And all one has to do is beat the longest standing time, correct?"

The guy on the keg signaled for the guys to put his legs down and the crowd erupted into louder cheers. Forty-eight seconds he had gotten, apparently the longest of that night.

"Yeah. The record in this frat house is sixty-seven seconds."

"So all I have to do is chug for longer than a minute seven, and I am the best?"

"Yeah, I guess."

And then Zay froze when he realized what she had said.

"Wait, _what_?"

But Smackle wasn't next to him anymore. She had walked up to the keg stand, pulling off her glasses and setting them on the table nearby as she waited for them to help her upside down to start her turn.

"What the hell are ya doing?!" Zay gripped his hair in exasperation.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" Smackle asked crossly, shooting him a glare. "I'm playing the keg stand game."

"Have you ever even done this before, Izzy?"

"Don't call me Izzy! It doesn't matter if I have no experience. I observed the techniques and analyzed the best approach to this lunacy. I can last."

Zay gave her an incredulous look. "You look like a lightweight."

She gave him a look, her lips pursed in irritation as she stooped.

"I can _last._ Unlike you people, I've studied the effects of alcohol in depth. I made sure to have a full meal beforehand to limit the amount of intoxication of this event."

"You ate a full meal?!" Zay was even more appalled than before. "This is the very _last_ thing you should be doing!"

"Watch and learn, Isaiah."

She took out a sanitizing wipe from her purse and cleaned off the mouthpiece of the tube. Then she took it in her mouth and held onto the edge of the keg, nodding to the boys to lift her up.

Like everyone else in the area, Zay didn't expect Smackle to do well and some of the people were snickering behind him, guessing she'd barely get in five seconds. He honestly hoped she wouldn't embarrass herself badly. If she tossed her cookies all over the floor after or during her turn, he had no doubt they would both be banned from the frat for life.

But they were _all_ proven wrong.

 _"Fifty-seven! Fifty-eight! Fifty-nine!"_

She was good.

Hell, not even good. _Great_.

On a roll and steadily chugging like she'd done this thing her entire life.

Zay was speechless. Shocked. _Beyond_ shocked.

 _"Sixty-six! Sixty-seven! Sixty-eight!"_

Smackle gave the signal, and they brought her carefully down, hollering and whooping loudly as she wiped her mouth. Some guy started a 'she beat the record' chant, and the crowd went even wilder, tossing cups in the air and clapping her on the back and celebrating the new record. They took her picture with a Polaroid while she stared at them all with thinly veiled annoyance, clearly not liking all the attention.

When they finally let her go, she slipped her glasses back on and went over to Zay, frowning and clearly wanting to be anywhere else but there. He stared at her, his jaw dropped. He was sure no one would ever forget that night.

"How the hell…?"

"This isn't my first time drinking. Or as Lucas likes to say: this ain't my first rodeo, dahlin'," Smackle replied playfully. "I told you. I have experimented with consuming reckless amounts of liquor in order to test the limits of alcohol tolerance numerous times in the past. Not enjoyable, but I have expanded my knowledge. And now I am the best at yet another thing."

"Could you have gone longer? You drank that like it was water!"

"Perhaps." She shrugged nonchalantly. "But I was bored of the game. I don't see the appeal."

"You broke the damn record. And that was your first keg stand! You nerdy chicks are always the freakiest ones."

"I take that as a compliment. Now. I have watched a round of beer pong, participated in a drinking event, danced the robot on a table, and talked to an individual who asked me if I wanted a rim job, although I declined since I do not have a car."

Zay snickered. "Yeah, good call…"

"We've been here for quite a while now. I'd say I've fulfilled the deal, wouldn't you?"

"After that? Definitely."

"So can I go back to my dorm now? I have to finish a paper due next month."

Zay stared at her incredulously, but he shook his head slowly, completely confused by her.

"I will never understand you, Izzy…"

"I don't expect you to. And don't call me Izzy!"

They left the frat house to people bowing down to Smackle. It didn't take long for them to reach her dorm again since Smackle was walking briskly as if she couldn't wait to shuck this evening from her mind and enjoy her studious life once again.

"It was an interesting evening," she said as they walked down the hall to her door. "Not as terrible as I expected."

"See? What did I tell you? So does that mean you're up for more partying?"

She laughed haughtily. "Please. I might be a bit 'tipsy', but I'm not intoxicated enough to _ever_ want to go back there again. That was my first and last time at any such place. Unless…"

"What?" Zay eyed her, intrigued.

"Unless you want to strike up another deal. Or incentive. Whatever you want to call it."

They stopped in front of her dorm door, and she crossed her arms in front of her chest, a calculating expression on her face.

"Oh yeah? What now?"

"You're in psychology, right? You have an exam next week, correct?"

"Yeah."

"If you get an A on your next exam without a tutor's help, I will go to another frat party with you and anyone else you go with, and I'll even let you pick my outfit. If you get anything lower than a ninety, you will be attending the Young Scientists Association's next conference with me."

"If you wanted a date to the event, all you had to do was ask, sugar," Zay said, waggling his eyebrows obnoxiously.

"Oh this is no date, Isaiah." Her eyes went a little menacing, glinting behind her glasses. "This is a congregation of all of our campus' biggest 'nerds and geeks' to discuss and view a presentation of the biggest and newest innovations of science and their impact in the community. Each conference is typically five hours _minimum_. It's formal wear only and no cellphones are ever allowed."

"Damn. That's intense."

"You made me go to a frat party," she said a bit treacherously. "The opportunity for revenge must fit the gravity of my initial punishment."

"Dangerous, devious, and debilitating. You're crafty." Zay smirked. "I like it."

"Do we have a deal or not, Isaiah Babineaux?" Smackle asked, holding her hand out to him with a cocked eyebrow.

He clasped it tightly, shaking it confidently.

"We have a deal, Izzy."


End file.
